Claudio Monteverdi’s madrigals have been described as a ‘theatre of the senses.’ These multi-voiced songs of life and love are intense dramas in miniature; quests for human expression that were as unprecedented as they were influential. In his Fifth book, things changed: the introduction of basso continuo – instruments to provide bass lines and harmonies – liberated Monteverdi’s voices above. This new freedom in the Fifth Book gives wings to Monteverdi’s rapturous visions of beauty and attraction, the sort of intricate, nimble and urgent beauty that Paul Agnew routinely brings from specialist Baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants.

Listen to Catherine Bott talk to Paul Agnew about Monteverdi's Fifth Book of Madrigals.